Moon in Aquarius

This afternoon at 2:00 PM the Moon moves into eccentric, inventive, independent Aquarius. Despite all the hoopla Aquarius makes about independence, Aquarius Moon draws us to our fellows.  This Moon favors hanging out with your tribe.  Being Aquarius the tribe does not necessarily have to be those you are related too.  This is the tribe of like minded individuals and those with whom you have a shared interest.   Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, does bring with it a desire for freedom, the freedom to be and express our own personal uniqueness. Folks are friendly but not clingy under this Moon.  There is a desire to get out and deal with the public in some way as well as concerns about issues of public welfare. Over the course of this Columbus Day weekend of 2013 Aquarius Moon will be bouncing off, making contact and in general stirring things up with the other planets.  Just after midnight Moon makes a sweet little sextile with Venus favoring that romantic connection.  Remember that under this Moon folks are more impersonal and detached.  This connection may be more like two ships passing in the night.  Get their info while you can.  Early Sunday morning Moon sets off sparks when she connects with Uranus, the ruler of this Aquarian Moon. A sudden jolt of surprise when you wake up and see just who you have been sleeping with, how did I get here you may ask.  A short time later Moon squaring Saturn brings reality slamming into your face.  The question now is how do I get out of here?  By late afternoon another square to Mercury brings some heated discussion.  Try not to get to heavy into politics, sex, or religion as the discussion will quickly turn into a full blown argument with both parties foaming at the mouth.  If that happens, go to your respective corners and chill out. Monday afternoon’s commute may turn ugly as Moon opposes fiery Mars in Leo.  Be wary of road rage, relax the grip on the steering wheel and unclench you teeth.  A little after 5PM the Moon slips into dreamy Pisces.  Throw some soothing music on and shed the stresses of the day.

Venus in Sagittarius

Venus in Sagittarius

Today, Monday, October 07, 2013 Venus moves into Sagittarius.  Venus, the ruler of relationships and money has been traveling through Scorpio since September 11^th.  Venus in Scorpio is complex, secretive and at time obsessive. At Venus’ entry into Sagittarius there is very definitely a feeling of “lightening up.”  Venus in Sagittarius wants to get out there and move around.   Venus in this fire sign does not commit easily. This is probably a good thing because on Thursday Venus moves into a square aspect with Neptune. This combination can bring disillusionment in love, relationships and money deals.  Relationships begun now need the test of time to prove their worth. We don’t see things clearly, are unrealistic and have trouble dealing with reality.  Artists do well under this aspect as it can stimulate the creative juices. 

The prospects for permanent relationships do not improve when Venus forms a trine aspect with volatile Uranus on Wednesday, October 16^th. This aspect brings excitement and a desire to break from the daily routine.  Relationships begun under this aspect sizzle and burn hot and fast but are apt to fizzle just as quickly.

Venus in Sagittarius is a good time to explore and expand your horizons.  Folks from different backgrounds and cultures appeal now and we are often interested in relationships with someone who is not our usual type. This Venus likes to have fun. Sporting events, museums and physical activity holds a lot of attraction.

Take advantage of this fun loving Venus while it lasts.  Venus is a fast mover and only remains in a sign for a short while.  On November 5, 2013 Venus enters earthly, serious Capricorn.  At that time our attention shifts to the practical and material.  Love under Venus in Capricorn is slow to build and has a tendency to last longer.

 

Aries New Moon - That's a Whole Lotta Aries!!!

Venus, Mars and Uranus join the Sun and Moon in Aries at this New Moon.  This New Moon sparks the pioneering spirit prodding folks to be bold, courageous and assertive.  Taking the initiative and acting on impulse are earmarks of Aries energy.  The New Moon to Full Moon period is always good for starting things but this New Moon is especially so.  With Moon in Aries there is an emotional need for action. Mars in Aries is the big dog at this Lunation. He’s in his own sign and has all the dignity, which means the energy of Mars functions well.  Mars on the bright side is good for starting things and asserting yourself. This New Moon is a great time to start an exercise program.  Mars on the not so bright side signifies all who dispute or fight.  War and warriors all belong to Mars. A strong Mars is often indicative of violence in some form.  Remember a jog around the block is preferable to punching someone in the face.  While Mars rules the soldier he also rules the athlete. So do the calisthenics, get out there and move because Mars will be calling you to action so use the energy in a positive manner.

At the First Quarter Moon on April 18^th Mars again is prominent.  Here he is conjunct the Sun and both square, (90 degrees apart) Moon at home in moody, broody Cancer.  Emotional reactions will be over the top. Venus has moved into her home turf of Taurus and will try to play the diplomat but will not have much luck. In Taurus, she’ll stick with it as Taurus is a fixed and stubborn sign. There’s no one who can dig their heels in and stand their ground like a Taurus.  Mercury at the New Moon was in quiet, contemplative Pisces where logic takes a back seat to dreams and visions. Now at this First Quarter, Mercury has moved into fiery Aries. Folks generally say the first thing that pops into their minds, blurting it out without thinking about the impact of what they say. Mercury in conjunction with Uranus here speaks of shocking news, accidents on the highway and in the air. Whatever it is, shock is the key word.

The Full Moon on April 25^th is in Scorpio and is also a Lunar Eclipse with the Sun in Taurus and Moon in Scorpio.  While Venus in Taurus at this Full Moon is strong in general an Eclipse in Scorpio indicates secretive actions.  Taurus and Scorpio have a great deal to do with money, debt and interest rates. On the grand scale of the world stage currencies, economies and the big banks will hit the headlines.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that a country’s saber rattling is about honor, it is about money, bottom line.

By the Last Quarter Moon on May 2^nd much is still going on behind the scenes.  Some courageous do-gooder may make an attempt to reveal some dark secrets. Scandal about secret love affairs and secret money deals aggravates an already aggravated public.

We live in unsettling times with the economy in the pits and societal changes moving along to the dismay of many and not quickly enough for others.  The new and the traditional vie with one another for supremacy. The Lunation cycle that begins with this New Moon agitates and aggravates the tensions prevalent in the world today.

 On a personal level use this New Moon energy to make changes and to move forward.  Remember to be assertive, not aggressive.  When Mercury moves into Aries and touches base with Uranus on the 20^th use that energy to foster creative, innovative ideas in your personal and professional life.  It’ll feel like a light bulb has flashed on in your head. Brilliant!

At the Full Moon dig deep into your own money issues and figure out what it is you truly value.  This Full Moon should bring the awareness that we cannot let out possessions or lack of possessions define who we are.

As the Moon winds down to the Last Quarter take the time to meditate, contemplate and quietly review all that has gone on in your life as the Moon waxed and waned.  There is a need to assimilate and dissipate or dispense what we have brought into ourselves during this cycle. It’s like fertilizer that we spread to nurture the next New Moon cycle.

 

Spring Equinox

Spring arrived on March 20^th at 7:02 AM EDT.  Astrologer’s cast a horoscope for the Sun’s entry into Aries and study it in an effort to determine what the season may bring. This season promises to be a volatile and explosive one.  The planetary configuration present at the moment of the Equinox contains stressful aspects between planets.  Mars and Uranus, together in the sky are positioned 90 degrees from the Moon in one direction and Pluto in the other.  This in astrological jargon is called a t-square because it looks like a T. 

The Moon at the Equinox is strong by sign (in Cancer) and house (4^th for the horoscope erected for Washington, DC).  The Moon owns that sign and house so everything Luna has extra oomph. The Moon is all about emotion, feelings and gut reactions.  In Mundane astrology, the astrology of world events, the Moon signifies the population as a whole and has dominion over public opinion.  It symbolizes women, the water supply, common needs and agriculture. In difficult aspect it can indicate racial discord, unrest among the people and less than optimal agricultural conditions.  The fourth house where it is posited denotes real estate, land values, mines and quarries as well as natural disasters like earthquakes and floods. 

The Mars/Uranus combination is the most volatile one in the chart. Mars rules all who dispute or fight, the armed forces and arms manufacturing as well as meat production and the iron and steel industry.  In bad aspect Mars can bring volcanic activity, fires, explosions and other forms of violence.  What Mars starts Uranus finishes.  On the bright side Uranus rules new technology and inventions.  On the down side Uranus loves to stir things up with riots, strikes, earthquakes and other violent upheavals of nature.  This is a crash and burn combo for sure.

On the other end we have Pluto another fun guy.  The rosy optimistic view of Pluto is that he destroys in order to build something new and better.  While this is true it is difficult to see or imagine the rosy future when you are standing in the rubble of your life.  Great sociological movements occur under Pluto’s influence.  In bad aspect, like now, natural disasters, oil spills and mayhem natural or manmade are in the realm of possibilities.

The Moon is the fast mover and often acts as a trigger, as does Mars. Mars makes a circuit of the Zodiac in approximately two years and can act as a trigger as well. Two years ago Mars formed a conjunction with Uranus in Aries and we had the Arab Spring. Friday, March 22, 2013 Mars in Aries will once again be in exact conjunction with Uranus. This could be the trigger. Moon will also be in Leo on Friday touching off Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus. 

 The lead up to the Full Moon on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 has Mars connecting with Jupiter and then squaring off in a combative stance with Pluto.  The headlines and talking heads will reflect these powerful alignments.  Shocking and unexpected events will pepper our spring time season. Drought conditions will continue to effect food and water supplies.  From all sides of the political spectrum folks will continue to register their discontent.  We can expect more of “Arab Spring” types of events from around the world a reflection of the long term transit connection between Uranus and Pluto which little guys like Mars touch off every now and then. 

In personal lives old wounds that never properly healed are reopened. Painful but necessary as a proper mourning and/or healing period can occur.  Don’t despair, there is light at the end of the tunnel and no, it’s not a freight train bearing down on you.

Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp – Romance Gone Bad

When Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp shock waves were felt around the world. How does a seemingly romantic relationship end in tragedy?  Astrology can serve as a guide to relationships through the use of chart comparison. The planetary positions of one horoscope in relationship to another horoscope indicate areas of compatibility as well as points of contention between two people. Comparing the horoscopes of Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp reveals a passionate and volatile relationship.

The first thing that pops out when comparing these two are the two Sun signs. Oscar is a Scorpio and Reeva a Leo. The Suns are in a 90 degree aspect to one another. In the language of astrology this aspect is called a square. Squares are aspects of agitation and ill ease.  While aspects between the Sun in one chart to the Sun in another are usually considered positive, a square presents problems.  There is a challenge here.  The Sun represents the ego and here the two egos take somewhat of a combative stance against one another. Scorpio and Leo are fixed signs, one of a sensitive watery nature, (yes Scorpio is sensitive) while the other, fiery Leo seeks the limelight and wants to be appreciated. 

Oscar with a Leo Moon needs that appreciation and recognition for his accomplishments as well.  Reeva’s Mars in Leo sits on Oscar’s Moon.  This aspect is one of great passion and a rather spicy sex life. They enjoy many of the same types of activities and a relationship filled with spontaneity. The problem here is Mars is the planet of action and aggression while the Moon rules the feelings and emotions. Often in this type of intra-aspect between two people we find that the Moon person (Oscar) feels that the Mars person (Reeva) is insensitive and upsets him emotionally. The Mars person (Reeva) feels that the Moon person (Oscar) is self indulgent and becomes impatient with the Moon person.

Aggressive Mars has more action in this comparison as Oscar’s Aquarian Mars opposes Reeva’s Leo Sun.  A Leo Sun person is not going to take any crap from anyone. (Neither is a Scorpio Sun person for that matter) A Sun opposite Mars combination brings electric excitement, an attraction between the two that is difficult to resist. It also brings a conflict of wills, with each heading in a different direction and trying to get the other to follow.

There is a lovely trine aspect, 120 degrees, between Reeva’s Venus and Oscar’s Neptune. This aspect is one of romantic attraction with a spiritual, intuitive connection between the two.  Without an accurate birth time for Reeva, her Moon cannot be placed with any accuracy.  Her Moon is definitely in Capricorn but whether or not it conjuncts Oscar’s Neptune is pure speculation.  A Moon/Neptune conjunction between two people insures a strong psychic connection.  A sensitive attunement to one another with lots of empathy.  Neptune is where we don the rose colored glasses and see things as we wish them to be not as they really are.

These are but a few of the intra aspects between Oscar and Reeva but with just these few one can see the attraction as well as some of the difficulties between the two. We may never know what triggered this awful incident.  The transiting Sun in Aquarius at the time of the incident opposed Reeva’s Sun while squaring Oscar’s.  The Sun was approaching conjunction with Oscar’s planet of action, Mars in Aquarius.  Mars in the sky at that time was in favorable aspect to Oscar’s ruling planet Pluto. Oscar has Sun, Mercury, Venus and Pluto all in Scorpio.  All signs have their shadow side. For Scorpio’s that shadow can be suspicion, obsession and paranoia.

Whatever the trigger or reason a woman’s life has ended tragically.  And a man has to live with the results of his actions.  The lesson here may be that we all may need to take a step back, take things down a notch and take a calm look at what we are doing before we take irrevocable action.   

 

Pope Benedict XVI

Once again the Catholic Church and the millions of faithful were rocked when Pope Benedict XVI announced his retirement, abdication, resignation or whatever you call it when a Pope lays down his scepter.  The Church has been riddled with scandals from pedophile priest to financial issues involving money laundering for a good many years now and will continue in the upcoming years.  The transit of Pluto through Sagittarius from January 1995 to January 2008 triggered the sexual scandals which in turn sparked many a crisis of conscious among the faithful.  With Pluto now in Capricorn the crisis brings more concrete issues to the table.  Questionable financial dealings and corruption within the church send tremors through the institution known as the Vatican.

Questions regarding Pope Benedict’s knowledge of the pedophiles within the ranks and the alleged cover up continue to dog the Pope and show no signs of letting up. These issues and the Pope’s physical condition were major factors in the Pope’s decision.

Pope Benedict is an Aries, with a Libra Moon and Pisces Ascendant.  The Ascendant, having much to do with the personality of an individual, in the sign of Pisces indicates spiritual leanings as well as a tendency to look at things through rose colored glasses. The Moon in the horoscope points to what the person needs. In Libra, Pope Benedict needs harmony and peaceful relations. All of this is filtered through the Aries Sun. There is a certain amount of aggressiveness, assertiveness and an initiating quality with this Sun sign. Aries wants to be first.  Jupiter in Pisces, (faith) conjuncts the Ascendant as well as the Pisces Mercury and widely to Uranus in Aries. Pisces Mercury is great for meditation and prayer.  Arriving at decisions could prove to be problematic with this placement. In addition this Pisces Mercury squares (90 degrees) Benedict’s natal Mars in Gemini. So Benedict has this Pisces Mercury aligned with Mars in Gemini and if we couple that with the Libra Moon that needs to see both sides of the picture we can see where taking decisive action may be a difficult proposition for this individual.

A comparison between Pope Benedict’s horoscope chart and the chart for the timing of the official end of his reign as Pope (February 28, 2013, 8PM, Rome, Italy, from news reports) is worth a look see.  The transits to Pope Benedict’s chart at that time place Sun, Mercury, Venus and Neptune all in Pisces in his twelfth house of solitude. Traditionally the twelfth house is a house of affliction, exile, banishment and hidden enemies.  The Piscean strength in his natal horoscope leads me to believe that he really does wish to lead a contemplative life.  The scandals and his health were/are the factors in his decision. I am thinking that his health tipped the balance. The twelfth house placement of the transiting planets in his horoscope hint of secrets.  There is more going on than is being revealed. In October of this year there will be a Lunar Eclipse with Sun at 25 Libra and Moon at 25 Aries. The Moon will sit upon his Aries Sun.  From now until then secrets may unfold.  And the questions will be who knew? Who covered up? And where does the church go from here.

Moon Musings - First Quarter - Full Moon

Moon entered Taurus on Friday, February 15^th.  For the Taurus folks among us this is like a personal New Moon for when the Moon moves into the sign your Sun is in it will revive you and pump you up.  It is not so with the other Fixed signs, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius. Moon opposes Scorpio and forms a 90 degree square aspect to Leo and Aquarius. Taurus Moon makes things tough for the other Fixed signs.  While making it tough for the Fixed crowd, Taurus Moon smoothes the way for the Earth signs of Virgo and Capricorn. In the Zodiac, Earth to Earth is an aspect of 120 degrees called a trine. This is an aspect of ease where the energy flows.

In the sky now the Sun is moving through the later degrees of Aquarius. On Sunday, February 17^th the Moon will move into a 90 degree square aspect with the Sun. This is the First Quarter Moon phase of the monthly dance between the Sun and Moon. Squares activate and agitate. The First Quarter Moon phase awakens the promise seeded in the New Moon phase. Action is required, go somewhere, do something, have that conversation.  Moon in Taurus brings out the stubborn and the cautious within us. This Moon is grounded and deeply invested in the status quo. Sun in Aquarius looks to the future and loves the novel and new. Despite this future oriented view, Aquarius is a fixed, air sign which equates to fixed ideas, ideas that are entrenched. It takes a great deal of reason, logic and argument to get an Aquarian to change that fixed, air mind. We may find ourselves between a rock and a hard place at this First Quarter phase forcing us to act.

As we shift from the Fixed signs of Taurus/Aquarius to the Mutable signs of Moon in Gemini and Sun in Pisces movement, change and adaptability loom on the horizon Gemini Moon encourages communication and curiosity. On Wednesday, February 20^th, Moon enters Cancer, at home here and forming an aspect of ease to Pisces Sun; heretofore barriers and obstacles to progress melt away. The Full Moon of February 25^th reflects this shift with Moon in Earthy Virgo opposing Pisces Sun.  Change is possible but for some difficulties remain, in particular Sagittarius and Gemini receive troublesome vibes from this Full Moon.  Capricorn, Taurus, Cancer and Scorpio receive some helpful energy.

In the lead up to the Full Moon, on Monday, February 18^th as the Sun moves into Pisces, Saturn in Scorpio stations, turning retrograde. Retrograde motion is the appearance of the planet moving backwards. When a planet stations and changes direction the energies of that planet are strong.  Saturn is about restriction, contraction and keeping your nose to the grind stone.  Scorpio speaks to sex, death, and transformation.  The more practical application of this sign encompasses debt and taxes.  While some may have a hot little love affair that transforms most will be dealing with the IRS and the credit card companies.

As we move into the Full Moon phase and wind down to the Last Quarter of this cycle that which was hidden shall be revealed. With Mercury going retrograde on February 23^rd we may have to wait until the next First Quarter phase in March when Mercury moves again in direct motion after the 17^th of March.

With the Sun traveling through Pisces the energies encourage quiet reflection and spiritual endeavors.  The down side of Pisces is escape from reality. Don’t hit the bottle or ignore the practical things that need to be dealt with.  Do get in touch with your core self, find your center and move from there.